Review: 'The Last Runaway' by Tracy Chevalier

By Kim Curtis

Associated Press

Posted:
01/31/2013 12:00:00 AM PST

Updated:
01/31/2013 03:34:59 PM PST

Tracy Chevalier's "Girl With a Pearl Earring," which brought Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer to life, has become a near-classic in contemporary historical fiction. Her latest novel, "The Last Runaway," takes on similarly fascinating subject matter -- the Quakers' role in the Underground Railroad during the mid-1800s.

Despite her name, Bright is anything but. Her character is flat and dull; she spends much of her time longing for home, harshly judging her new American friends and family. This criticism seems all the more confusing when we learn that Chevalier intended this novel as her "love letter home." (She's made her home in England for nearly 30 years.)

The rest of the characters are unsympathetic and undeveloped. That said, "The Last Runaway" is a quick read -- but it's a page turner for the wrong reasons: Readers anxiously wait for something to happen, and when things finally do happen, the action seems too trite and familiar.